Wooden signs are useful and fun.
Whether you want to mark the row of seeds in your garden or warn your neighbors to beware of your dog, you can achieve both goals with a wooden sign. Wooden signs are also great additions to a yard to advertise, promote slogans or favorite quotes or simply mark your territory. Wooden signs can be used indoors, too, stuck in a large planter or propped in a corner with a fun illustration or saying.
Instructions
1. Gather your wood. Get a flat piece of sign for the main sign board and a taller, thin piece to use as the sign's stake. Thinner wood works well as long as it's sturdy. If you don't find a piece that's the right size, saw the wood to the desired height and width. Instead of a wooden sign stake, you can use a metal signpost that has holes for nails to attach to the sign.
2. Sand and nail. Use sandpaper to sand all rough edges around the sign as well as on its surface. The grit of the sandpaper that works best depends on how coarse the wood is. The thicker and coarser the wood, the larger and thicker the sandpaper should be. Sand both the sign board and wooden stake. Nail the stake to the sign with long wood nails protruding from the back of the stake into the back of the sign board. Choose nails that are long enough to be secure but not too long that they stick out the front of the sign board. If the nails do stick out through the front of the sign, bend them downward by pounding them with a hammer.
3. Paint and seal. You can leave your sign wood colored or paint with a base coat of one or several colors. Acrylics work well with a brush, or you can quickly color the sign with spray paint. Once the base coat is dry, paint on any lettering, illustrations or other adornments you desire. When all paint is fully dry, spray with a sealer such as polyurethane to protect the sign from the elements.
4. Install. Dig a small hole in the dirt several inches down. Insert sign. Pack the hole by stepping or pressing the dirt back into place around the sign's stake.
